The expansion of tube segments or “tubulars” is important in a number of fields, especially in such areas as the oil field industry, heat exchanger industry and pipeline industry. The oil field industry uses expandable casing to complete wells and expandable liners are used to patch holes in existing strings of casing. The pipeline industry also uses expandable liners to patch leaks in existing pipelines or to tie together sections of pipeline under construction. In tubular heat exchangers expansion of a tubular section can be used to seat a tube within a tubesheet or to repair a leak in an existing tube within the heat exchanger. In each of the above-noted industries, a variety of methods have been employed to provide the insitu expansion of tubular sections. These methods can be grouped into three basic categories, explosive expansion, mechanical expansion, and hydraulic expansion.
Explosive expansion is primarily used in the oil well industry for the completion or repair of existing casing strings. The tubular section to be expanded is lowered into the well on a wire line or tubing string. The tubular is sealed at both ends and contains an explosive charge inside the tubular running the length of the tubular. The charge is detonated and the pressure generated expands the tubular out against the existing casing. The outside is generally sealed to the existing casing with a layer of fiberglass impregnated resin. A mandrel may then be pulled through the expanded liner to complete the expansion process.
Mechanical expansion of tubulars is also used in well completion, pipeline repair and heat exchanger fabrication and repair. Two primary methods of mechanical expansion are utilized in these various industries; linear swaging and rotary swaging. In the linear swaging method, the tubular is either affixed to the existing casing or is suspended on the wire line or tubing string. A mandrel is then forced through the tubing to expand it. Rotary swaging typically utilizes a cone with external rollers to expand the tubular. The cone is rotated while it is pulled through the tubing decreasing the axial stresses on the tubular as compared to linear swaging but increasing the torsional stresses on it.
The final method for the insitu expansion of tubulars is hydraulic expansion in which fluid pressure is used to provide the expansion force on the inside of the tubular. Two processes are used to accomplish such expansions. In direct hydraulic expansion, the tubular is sealed at its ends and fluid pressure is applied directly to the inside surface of the tubular section being expanded. In contained hydraulic expansion, the fluid is injected into a resilient member such as a rubber sleeve or bladder and the expansion of the resilient member causes the tubular to be expanded.
Each of the above methods has shortcomings which are addressed by the current invention. Explosive expansion is both expensive and complicated and the expansion of the tubular is difficult to control. Variations in the ignition of the explosive charge and in the material properties of the tubular section itself can vary the expansion of the tubular in a non-uniform manner and can even lead to rupture of the tubular section. In addition each length of tubing must be individually prepared, sealed off to contain the explosive pressure and lowered into place. An incomplete or uneven explosion can lead to a costly repair operation.
Current mechanical expansion methods also have shortcomings. With either method, the apparatus subjects the tubular to significant axial or torsional stresses which can lead to buckling of the tubular and thus damaging both the tubular section and the expansion apparatus. Once again costly retrieval operations and repairs can result. Both methods of mechanical expansion can also cause scarring of the internal surface of the tubular during the swaging process making sealing between subsequent lengths of tubing difficult. Because the length of tubular that can be expanded in one downhole operation is limited by the buckling loads imposed on the tubular, the process is both slow and expensive.
There are also weaknesses in the current methods of hydraulic expansion of tubulars. With direct hydraulic expansion, a tubular section must be sealed at its two ends and this seal must be maintained throughout the expansion process. Sealing methods in use today are complicated and expensive. In addition, since the seal must engage the ends of the tubular section, it is difficult to expand the entire length of the section with this process without damaging the seal. A secondary operation must be performed to expand the ends of the tubular. The ultimate radial expansion of the tubular is also not controlled by this method. If a repair is being made to an existing tube, some portions of the existing tube will restrain the expansion more than other portions resulting in uneven expansion and possible failures in over-expanded areas. Similar problems exist with contained hydraulic expansion since the ultimate expansion of the resilient containment is not properly controlled. These methods are also limited in their ability to expand the tubular at its end since their radial expansion is limited only by the restriction of the expanding tubular section or by the amount of fluid introduced into the resilient sleeve or bladder of the indirect hydraulic expansion process.
It is an object of the current invention to overcome the shortcomings of the current methods and apparatus described above by providing a device for the expansion of tubular sections that enables limited and controlled uniform expansion.
A further object of the current invention is to provide a device for the expansion of tubular sections that is easy to use and may be used to expand long sections of tubes or pipes including end sections in a uniform manner that avoids tubular breakage.
A further object of the current invention is to provide a device for the expansion of tubular sections in an even cylindrical manner that avoids torsional or axial stresses.
A further object of the current invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a device for the expansion of tubular sections for continuous expansion of tubulars in a uniform manner to a desired diameter.
Yet a further object of the current invention is to provide a method of expanding tubular pipes in a continuous and uniform manner with reduced scoring or weakening of the tubes.
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus for the expansion of tubular end sections that is uniform in strength and diameter to sections removed from the tube end.
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus for carrying the casing string into the wellbore and expanding the upper end of the casing string to lock it into place without the need of special tools to hang the casing in the well prior to expansion.
Finally a further object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus for the repair and expansion of tubulars that lower the likelihood of difficult repair and retrieval of remote tube sections.